Life: Sacred in All Contexts

Ash Wednesday, February 13, 2013, also marked the start of the 2013 national 40 Days for Life event, which is a time of prayer, fasting, and intercession to help end abortion. As I reflect on the need for this event and the 1973 decision that promulgated it, I see a dire need to elevate the view of human life in

American society. American culture has historically understood that God is sovereign, truth is absolute, and morals are unchanging because they are based on God's standards. Today, however, we live in a world that believes wholeheartedly that man is autonomous and that both truth and values are relative to the situation we find ourselves in. The latter assumptions are patently false.

The Bible has shown to be divinely inspired by many lines of evidence. For example: non-Christian writings, such as that of Tacitus and Josephus, support the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Additionally, archaeology has proven Biblical history, as in the case of John Garstang proving the authenticity of the battle at Jericho. Finally, there is an increasingly wide body of evidence in both science and mathematics that supports the creation story of Genesis and shows that it is more likely than not that there was an intelligent designer – God – that created our universe.

Because we have evidence that the Bible is true, we can trust the Bible when it declares that God is Creator. As Creator, God is also the Owner of all things. This premise is in direct conflict with the modern philosophy that says, "my life, my body, my choices." Furthermore, God creates human lives for a purpose, and all humans, regardless of their condition, find their worth and meaning through Jesus Christ. As such, another man is not qualified – or at liberty – to determine human worth or what life is expendable through abortion or other means.

The dignity and sanctity of human life is not only affirmed by the Bible, and is protected by the Constitution. Only three years before Roe v. Wade (Steinberg vs. Brown, 1970), a federal court referred to the unborn as persons. And, following basic scientific ontological classification, if embryos come from human parents, then they themselves would be classified as human, and should be afforded all of the rights afforded to all humans. It is wrong to put one human life in the position of being expendable, while elevating another human – the mother –to the position of sovereign by allowing her to choose whose life has greater "quality" and thus greater reason for preservation.

Our society must make a return to God and His principles. In doing so, we will recognize the absolute truth that life in all contexts is sacred, and must be protected in every context. Belief in the sanctity of life is an outgrowth of belief in the sovereignty of the Creator. In other words, to be at all meaningful, our moral positions must rest upon God as their ultimate basis – including those related to human life.

Alex McFarland is a speaker, writer and advocate for Christian apologetics. He serves as director of the Center for Christian Worldview and Apologetics at North Greenville University, a leading Christian college in the United States. He has spoken in hundreds of locations throughout North America and internationally and has preached in more than 1,300 churches.